In light voting for a special runoff in Texas House District 120, a Democratic stronghold, Thompson prevailed with 52 percent to 48 percent to fill the remaining four months of McClendon’s term. The district includes parts of the East and Northeast Sides, including Windcrest and Kirby.

Just 1,225 ballots — 635 for Thompson and 585 for Miller — were cast among the nearly 95,000 registered voters for a 1.29 percent turnout. Nearly all the ballots were cast early or by mail, with 188 votes cast on Tuesday.

Although the Legislature isn’t in session this year, Thompson will be sworn in as one of the 150 House members and will replace McClendon on several House committees, but she won’t be serving by the time the Legislature convenes in January.

Even so, her win was a rare feat among Texas lawmakers. Though several candidates have run as independents, according the Legislative Reference Library of Texas the last time an unaffiliated member served was in 1961.

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Reveling in her victory, Thompson said she’s eager to assume official duties in an office that has been vacant most of the year.

“It’s a great opportunity to go in and see what’s going on, to see what things have been left dormant, and make sure things are on the right track,” she said late Tuesday.

Thompson, a certified mediator, writer and former precinct chair, was the top vote-getter in the May 7 special election that drew four candidates, but she fell short of a majority. That prompted the runoff, which cost the county $150,000 to conduct in 88 precincts.

Thompson had hoped to win an independent spot on the November ballot but didn’t gather sufficient signatures. She hinted at another race in the future.

“You might” see her on another ballot, she said. “There are some things in the works,” she said.

On her campaign webpage, Thompson said “the constant thread in my life is service.” She vowed to advocate for small businesses, improve transportation and education, and make technology more widely available. As a poet and author, she also pledged to support the arts.

Miller, an insurance agent, serves on the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority’s board of directors. He finished sixth among six candidates in the March Democratic primary for the full term, two-year term.

Thompson will serve until early January when the 85th Legislature convenes and Barbara Gervin-Hawkins is expected to take the oath for the full term in District 120. With no Republican candidate for the House seat, Gervin-Hawkins is unopposed on the Nov. 8 ballot, having emerged on top of a crowded field in the Democratic primary.

McClendon, who took office in 1996, tendered her resignation in January to force the special election. The special contest partially overlapped with the crowded primary race for a full term starting in 2017. The two races may have caused some voter confusion, contributing to low turnout, officials said.